Review: Phantom Peak's The Great Undoing

The Great Undoing spells the end of Phantom Peak as we know it in this shortened final season at their Canada Water home.

Photo: Alistair Veryard

If the recent final episode of Stranger Things has reminded us of anything, it's that wrapping up a long-running story in a satisfying way is a lot easier said than done. Whether it's down to unrealistically high expectations from fans, too many narrative threads to tie up, or just good old-fashioned bad writing, the odds of sticking the landing and delivering a satisfying conclusion that's adored by fans are low. Time and time again, history seems to repeat itself, with series like LOST, Dexter and Game of Thrones all ending in similar circumstances.

For Phantom Peak (the closest thing the immersive world has to a long-running episodic series), the time has come for it to conclude this sixteen-season-long chapter in its sprawling ongoing narrative. With Phantom Peak's all-seeing leader, Jonas, ready to enact his plan to rebuild the town from scratch in his own image, the stakes have never been higher for both fans and the town's residents. So how does it stack up against its televisual counterparts?

With The Great Undoing, Phantom Peak offers up a conclusion to its time in Canada Water that stands comfortably alongside the show's strongest seasons. It's no secret that the show's approach to storytelling has always been ambitious and self-assured, with it constantly reinventing itself season after season, but to see the show's writing team bring three-and-a-half years' worth of stories to a close with such confidence still feels miraculous. It's the culmination of everything Phantom Peak has been working towards since the beginning.

While many of the show's biggest mysteries remain unanswered for the time being - no doubt waiting to be explored once Phantom Peak's move to Westfield Stratford City is complete - the show's assured continuation never undermines the impact of this final chapter. It’s heartfelt, humorous, and often, hugely emotional.

Photo: Alistair Veryard

Bringing a story this large to a close while still catering to new and first-time visitors means that structurally, The Great Undoing works a little differently from past seasons of Phantom Peak. For the first time, the bulk of this season's content has been carried over from a previous season, with seven of Wintermas' trail line-up sticking around for a little longer than we initially thought. They've been tweaked in places to account for changes around the town - not least the departure of Phantom Peak's festive demi-god Father Platmas - but as ever, they offer just as many pop culture references and unexpected twists as audiences have come to expect. (You can read our full five-star review of 2025's Wintermas season here).

The remaining four spots on the JonAssist are all taken up by Great Undoing-focused storylines that serve as the true 'final season' of the show's Canada Water run. While they don't shy away from embracing Phantom Peak's signature style of humour, they also deliver several moments of real sincerity, which, for long-time fans of the show, will hit them like a tonne of bricks.

Photo: Alistair Veryard

There’s no such thing as a ‘main character’ in Phantom Peak, but this season’s collection of new trails places a deliberate focus on a select few. ‘Access Denied’ revolves around the ever-vexed Dr Winter (Daniel Pirie), who has played a pivotal role in JONACO’s rise to power over the course of the show. Typically, they're two steps ahead of everyone else in town, but this season finds them on the back foot as they grapple with a last-minute betrayal from on high that threatens their safety.

In ‘Back to the Furbish’, the perennially disliked Mayor Pocket (Mandi Harkett), who's only just made it back into JONACO's good books after having their mayorship removed at the start of Wintermas, has one final chance to defy expectations and act in the town’s best interest thanks to some collusion between the puppetized Dr Furbish and Madame Mechanica, a fortune-telling robot who's been largely absent since the early days of Phantom Peak.

‘My Dinner with Jonas’ sees Cogwright (Margot Victoria Cadic), the one-time Jonagraph Operator and resident tinkerer, return to town at the eleventh hour, only to play right into Jonas' hands inadvertently, and ‘Homeward Bound’ chronicles the fallout of bar owner-turned-lawyer Giffard (Tom Shah) having gone against JONACO and secretly harboured their fugitive father, Dr Furbish, in recent seasons.

While all four of these trails explore different aspects of the town's final hours, the common thread that runs through them all is that the actions of the townsfolk over the past sixteen seasons have had consequences. For better or worse, they're all now paying the price. While there's comfort for the audience in helping them achieve small victories ahead of the town's destruction, Jonas set out to build a perfect town full of perfect people. The characters that inhabit the town have often been anything but.

Photo: Alistair Veryard

The inevitability of the town's demise has been signposted for some time now, but it hasn't stopped regular visitors from growing hugely attached to its inhabitants. While much of this is down to Phantom Peak's wonderfully talented cast, who have all embodied the show's characters with a huge amount of personality and warmth from its very first performance, the staggering number of storylines on offer since the show first opened its doors back in 2022 has also played a key part.

Completing every trail from the show's opening season to today would take over 150 hours - a figure that's frankly tough to get your head around. Only a small percentage of visitors will have completed every single trail, but many people aren't far off, and even casual repeat visitors have likely spent over a dozen hours interacting one-on-one with the town's characters and seen their struggles and triumphs unfold over the course of several years.

It's this long-term relationship between the audience and Phantom Peak's population that makes its impending demise all the more impactful and the stakes that much higher. From the outset of The Great Undoing, it's made clear that the townsfolk's fates are anything but guaranteed. If Jonas has anything to do with it, these final interactions with some of them may well be our last.

Photo: Alistair Veryard

Given the unease simmering through the town ahead of The Great Undoing, it’s no surprise that the closing ceremony strikes an emotional chord. While previous closing ceremonies have indulged in everything from conga lines and snowfall to nativity plays and full-blown dance routines, this season's conclusion is a more understated affair and revolves around each character getting a final moment in the spotlight before stepping into the unknown. It’s a farewell that honours not only the town and its residents but the audience’s sustained investment in the world.

Photo: Alistair Veryard

Phantom Peak may have been a failure in Jonas' eyes, but for the rest of us, that couldn't be further from the truth. From the opening trails of Season 1 to the final moments of The Great Undoing's closing ceremony, Phantom Peak's time in Canada Water has proven itself to be an outstanding piece of long-form immersive storytelling.

Ambitious, hilarious, and profoundly human (despite the numerous puppets and talking animals), the show's world has been somewhere where every interaction has mattered, a passionate community of devoted fans has formed, and most importantly, a long-lasting connection between the audience and the story has been made.

Those who have spent their evenings and weekends following the trials and tribulations of Phantom Peak's townsfolk over the last sixteen seasons have been rewarded with an experience that's truly second to none. In an industry full of shows that often disappear as quickly as they arrive, Phantom Peak's longevity has allowed it to do incredible things.

The Great Undoing should be considered an essential visit this February. It's the final chance to experience London's best immersive show in its original form, and we doubt there will ever be anything quite like it ever again.

★★★★★

Interview: Phantom Peak's Nick Moran on The Great Undoing

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Phantom Peak's The Great Undoing runs until 28th February 2026 in Canada Water. The show will reopen later this year at Westfield Stratford City. To find out more about The Great Undoing and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com